Such sensors are especially useful because the sensitive element, or probe, can be very small and can be made from dielectric material, so that the field is not affected and safety is not compromised in the presence of high-voltage conductors or the like.
Known sensors, on the other hand, although being sufficiently accurate in measuring field intensity at the point where the probe is located, are not capable of providing adequate information about the direction of the field, that is, they are not capable of detecting and of providing information about the intensity of the field in one or more directions relative to the position of the probe.
While it is possible, from the measured value and following an appropriate calibration, to obtain the actual distribution of the field in the case of a well-defined field configuration and for a given location of the probe, in the case of a substantially unknown field configuration, such as in the proximity of a charged body having an irregular shape or with an irregular charge distribution, the sensor does not provide sufficient information to define the field.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a directional sensor capable of detecting at least one component of a field to be measured in a well-defined direction, without such measurement being influenced by the other components of the field.